MONTPELIER — The mood at the Capitol Plaza Hotel & Conference Center in Montpelier was subdued. GOP faithful sipped martinis, ate meatballs and crowded around a big TV screen to watch the national returns.

They watched as Randy Brock conceded the race for governor shortly before 10:30 p.m. With his wife and daughter by his side, he thanked volunteers and wished Gov. Shumlin well.

“Being governor of Vermont is an important and august responsibility. It’s one in which I wish Governor Shumlin the best,” Brock said.

It was Brock’s first run at Vermont’s governorship. The former state auditor and second-term Vermont state senator ran on the mantra that if only government would get out of the way, Vermont’s economy would improve and jobs would grow. His platform called for lower taxes and permit fees, less regulation on development, and fewer subsidies for what his campaign materials termed “pie-in-the-sky” wind and solar projects.

But Brock’s message did not win at the polls.

Supporters said it would be a mistake to write off the Republican Party in Vermont. “We’re coming back strong, we’re coming back. Don’t you worry about us,” said Jack Lindley, chairman of the state GOP.

Many partygoers said they believed the GOP campaign theme this year, to bring balance to a Democrat-dominated state, was on target.

“The Legislature, they go in lockstep,” Robert Harvey of Barre Town of Democratic legislators.

His wife Ginette Harvey agreed. “You can’t run a state like this, you just can’t,” she said.

H. Brooke Paige of Washington, Vt., said with Gov. Jim Douglas’ departure two years ago, Democrats have been “running wild.”

He added: “They kind of feel they own the roost. ...”

Brock would have been the first African-American to be governor of Vermont — a fact he said little about during the campaign. Brock, a former executive with Fidelity Investments and a Vietnam veteran, lives in Swanton with his wife Andrea. They have one daughter.